"My Yashimi."

My eyebrows slant in anger as my blood boils at the thought of Yashimi's skin covered in bruises from that ugly oni.

I turn to every direction I can turn to, trying to find something to extinguish the fire.

I grip my sword handle tighter, and then my grip softens. I look down at my sword in my palm, "I can try and extinguish the fire with my blade.!" The thought shots in my mind like an arrow.

I turn around to face the thick, big tree behind me and run towards it. I jumped high and landed on its branches until I could reach the highest, which was pretty high.

"Alright," I let out a calm breath in the form of the letter 'o' around my mouth.

"Breath of water. Eight form: Waterfall Basin."

I leap high in the air, gripping my sword as water covers it, flowing with the wind as I slash down at the heat of the burning flames, creating a huge water basin as it crashes down.

I land on the ground near the fire. "Fuck. That didn't work.!" My jaw clenched, and my grip tightened harder against my handle and red-tinted palm. Red from all the printed nails that had dug deep.

Sweat drops from my forehead and everywhere from my face. I needed to get Fujimura out of there.

"I'll just do another attack."

I walk a little far from the heat of flames and turn around to face its mocking cackles again. I calm my heartbeat pattern into more of a wave washing over the shore and let out a gentle breath, relaxing my eyes.

"Breath of water. Third from: Flowing Dance, Shadows of Dawn."

I focus my aim and sprint towards the fire. Halfway, I spin around with my sword in hand, and with momentum, it starts getting lighter as water covers my blade.

I spin a second time, turning around on my tiptoes as a whirlpool of water follows my sword behind. At the perfect alignment, I slash down my blade, hard, with all my strength.

Before I could process what happened, an explosion kicks me back, landing my body onto the tree and then on the ground.

"Ah.." I let out a cough as I pick myself up, standing on my knees and palm as my other hand clutches my ribcage.

"Your little thing needs to learn to shut her mouth, water Hashira."

"That demon's voice!" My inner voice warns me. My eyebrows slant, and my eyes stare at that annoying kitsune mask. I glance up as I feel one droplet of blood come out of the corner of my mouth and drop to the ground, staining it with the paint of a deep red color.

Her foot reaches over the burning flame, stepping out of the shielded fire as it bursts into nothing. My eyes snap to the ground behind her.

My eyes widen as silver locks spread to the ground from the back of her head, and her body lying motionless, the demon's feet covering half of her.

I feel my heart bang and pound against my chest like it was purposely punching me. It's a feeling that I haven't felt in so damn long.

I was furious. No, I am furious.

How dare she call Fujimura a thing, how dare she hurt Fujimura, alone touch her, and how dare she separate me from Fujimura.

My blood boils hotter behind my skin, my jaw clench harder, my teeth gritted deeper into each other, it actually hurt like hell, and my fingers became stiff.

I couldn't care about the blood that pooled out of my mouth when I coughed from holding my breath longer than expected.

"Fujimura is NOT some 'thing' that you can play with." I stand up, my sword in my palms with my fingers tightly curling. "Oh, really? Well, it looks like I'm special because I'm playing with her head right now." A wicked, playful giggle comes out from her grinning red-tinted lips.

I snap my head to where silver locks spread and a motionless body lays. I immediately sprint towards her and slide to her with my knees crashing on the ground, staining my black cloth.

"Fujimura?" I lift her head and place it gently onto my lap as I sit down, resting my sword to my side. "Fujimura..!" She wouldn't wake up as I shook her unmoving shoulders.

"She won't wake up no matter how much you shake her, water Hashira." I can feel that oni grinning behind me as she takes a step towards us.

In fast speed, I lay Fujimura's head gently on the ground, grab my sword from the side of my thighs, and swiftly swing it at the near skinny figure.

"Ah!" She jumps back, her hand immediately clinging onto her neck. "How dare you!" She screams. "You sliced my neck halfway!" I fully face her, still squating on the ground, and my hand reaching out to my side in a protective stance.

My tone darkens as I straighten my legs up, "and next time, it'll be more than just a slice halfway." I notice she's shorter than me. Probably 5 foot and 5 inches.

"Well, then let's make sure that that won't ever happen." She challengingly grins and lifts her sword in the sky night and draws it upside down next to her face as she widens her foot stance.

"Come at me, water Hashira."

My feet sprint towards her as both my hands clasp hard on my black handle with my face still relaxed and calm.

Our swords clash with each other as I hear a small grunt coming out from her tight lips. "Can't match my strength, demon?" I remark, sarcasm lacing in my tone.

Her sword pushes me hard, giving me a good distance away from her. My foot instinctively breaks my fall with my toes.

"I can. It's just that your little 'thing' is just.. a little too hot-headed." She tilts her head to the side, making a cracking sound.

"She's strong, but my other companion is stronger," the corner of her mouth lifts into a smirk.

My eyes widen. "Other companion?.!" My thoughts hurl around in my mind as my deep cobalt irises shake in horror. "What the hell does she mean by 'other companion'?!"

"Judging from your eyes and stance, you don't know about my other companion, hm?" Her tone sounded sly and cunning.

"Let's just say he's a part of me and is messing with her right now. Tell me, water Hashira,"

She sprints towards me, about to swing her sword to my neck when I blocked it with mine, "what is your name? I'd love to remember you for when you die from my blade tonight." Our swords clash with each other, fighting for victory.

"I don't tell strangers, let alone demons, my name." My stoic and emotionless tone comes back as I relax my face.

How could I fight if I'd let my emotions and feelings swirl around me?

"Oh, come on. At least someone will remember you when you both die. Yashimi's dying anyway!" She tries to push my sword away, but I keep it in tact around my tight fingers.

"Breath of water. First form: Water Surface Slash."

I tightly grip my handle as I sprint and swing my sword to her neck. She leaps in the air, landing on the grassy, rough ground.

"Nice try, water Hashira, but you should focus on Yashimi. Not me."

A tight grip around her yellow-orange handle as she swung her sword back in a fighting stance. Her yellow-orange blade bursts into flames as fire marks appear on her kitsune mask.

"Amazing, huh? I was able to get my sword to this after that person had made me a demon." She then sprints to me, motioning her sword into an 'x' formation.

"You should burn in hell. It suits you better." Unwilling words comes out from my throat. Although it was my voice that spoke, it still surprised me. Yet no emotions surfaced on my face.

"You fucking bitch!" She screams and swing her sword. I leap back, my face looking bored and annoyed.

"You'll pay for saying that. I will make sure YOU burn in hell!" She lands on the ground and swings towards me again.

She was about to swing when I dodged it with my sharp blade. "You can't defeat a Hashira, so you should just stop and die shamelessly already."

•

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♥︎•Narrator POV•♥︎

Giyuu's words slices a crack in Itsuyushi's soul. It seems as if he had struck where it was hell for her. And to him, it was just unwilling words that suddenly came out out of nowhere.

"How dare you say that to an uppermost six!!" Itsuyushi's screams echo as she continues to clash and slashes her sword to Giyuu's with him effortlessly dodging.

Like as if for him, it was child's play as his face remained still and unmoved.

"You fucking take that back right now! And I might even spare you this time." Itsuyushi's tone darkens as blood boils beneath her skin.

Her mind screamed, "Kill him now," but something deep in her heart, no, that's impossible, she has no heart, somewhere deep in her stomach tells her to get away.

Was it because deep inside of Itsuyushi's lost soul, she still has some sympathy to spare. She won't admit it, but it's true.

That sympathy came from her mother. Her late mother. Who still roams in her head even when she turned into a demon. Was it because of the love her mother had for her?

Or was it her love for her mother, who kept her intact and active in her mind.

Giyuu looked like he was thinking, eyeing far into the left side. "Hmm, no, I don't think so. You deserve it anyway."

He sprints towards her and aims for her neck when she dodges and points her index to his nape, imprinting a fire-like symbol in the figure of a fox. Just like Yashimi's.

"What the hell?" Giyuu's thoughts tell him she did something as he lands away from her. "Got you now, water Hashira." A sly smirk appears below Itsuyushi's mask, her mouth turning up.

A burning sensation spreads slowly on Giyuu's nape. His eyes widen lightly, feeling perplexed. "Let's see what event you have in your mind." Another smirk appears on Itsuyushi's lips.

In Itsuyushi's sight, Giyuu's body rushes to the hard ground as his deep sea eyes turn up and to the back of his eyeballs. His hand has slightly softened its grip on his black handle.

And, in Giyuu's view, Itsuyushi had disappeared out of thin air. Was it because of her swift speed that got her away. In Giyuu's mind, Itusyuhi had disappeared, and when he looked at where lifeless silver locks should spread, it had also disappeared.

The very person he cared the most about had disappeared without him knowing.

"Giyuu?"

His eyes widened, and everything fell apart from the deepest reach of his heart. It's a voice he hadn't heard since he was still a very young child.

"Nee-san..?"